Redemption
by Gemina
Summary: Ten years ago, Francis Bonnefoy was murdered and no one ever found the killer. When his cousin turns up dead after trying to find the killer, the case is reopened, and strange new things are discovered about the past...sequel to Shame.
1. Decos Annos

"The victim was a twenty-one year old caucasian female. 5' 3", 130 pounds. Jeanne Bonnefoy. Raped and repeatedly beat with a baseball bat. Want to know what makes her death unusual?" Scotty looked to Lilly, raising an eyebrow.

"What is that?" Lilly could only guess it had to do with one of their cold cases.

"Her cousin died the same way ten years ago..."

"And?"

"And, judging by the papers we found in her briefcase, she was looking for his murderer." Scotty replied, gesturing to the small pile of bagged evidence.

Lilly nodded; Francis had been killed amidst a slew of murders, and due to him being so tangled up in the case, no one had really gotten around to figuring out who had murdered him until the trail had gone cold. On top of that, there was simply little evidence to go on in the first place.

She flipped over what appeared to be a transcript of a telephone conversation; it seemed Jeanne had been on to someone, but none of the evidence she had really pointed any fingers. Most used codenames.

"Who's her next of kin?"

"Her parents are out of the country, so for now we'll have to break the news to her cousin." Scotty replied, heading back to the car. This was the most difficult part about being a homicide detective...

* * *

><p>Luce had taken the news remarkably well, biting her lip and hugging her pet lemur close to her chest as the detectives explained what had happened. They left out the part about the rape, because she was younger, almost seventeen. She did not need to know about that part...<p>

"We think she was investigating her older cousin's murder. Do you remember her ever talking to you about it?"

Luce looked down, stroking her lemur's head affectionately.

"I...I not speaking English good. Well." She corrected herself. Lilly nodded.

"That's fine. Just tell us what you know."

"She was...was always searching for answer. But I know nothing." Luce replied, looking down to the floor.

"Was there anytime anyone threatened her?"

"Well...there was one time..." Luce began. "There was man...who was pounding on door..."

_Luce was working on her homework, as she glanced up as Jeanne ran to the door. The door shut behind her, as she stepped into the hallway. Luce creeped forward, pressing her ear to the door._

_"-stay away from my family, do you understand?" The man's voice had a Spanish roll to it, and he sounded as if he were at the end of his rope. Jeanne, ever the fearless one, didn't seem to care._

_"I need answers. If you just answered my questions, this wouldn't have to get so messy, now would it?"  
><em>

_"You will regret it if you keep poking around!" The mystery man snarled, and Luce's heart leapt to her throat; he sounded serious.  
><em>

_"I've already found your brother's dirty little secret! What else will I find out about your family before you give in and tell me?" There were heavy foot steps down the hallway as the man left, though not without a parting shot over his shoulder._

_"You'll be sorry about this!"_

"I tried to talk to her about it later, but she just pretended it never happened!" Luce explained, wiping at her eyes. Her lemur swished his tail against her cheek, chattering sympathetically.

Scotty nodded, glancing over at Lilly a moment, before asking his next question.

"Do you remember anything else about the man besides his accent?"

"No, I didn't see him..." She replied.

"Thank you for your time. We'll let you know if we discover anything further..."

* * *

><p>According to the old case file, Francis had been involved in a high school gang; only one of the other known gang members was still alive, so they were headed to interview him.<p>

Antonio had a rather comfortable apartment; when he invited the detectives in, he had been preparing his dinner, so he'd had them wait in the living room for a couple minutes while he ensured that it didn't burn. He finally took a seat in front of them, smiling.

"All right, what's all this about?"

"It seems that there was a murder that mirrored your friend Francis' murder." Scotty informed him, raising his eyebrows. He had read the court file; though the man hadn't been found guilty, the evidence had weighed rather heavily against him. Lilly leaned forward, folding her hands.

"We were wondering if you knew anything about it."

Antonio looked down, rubbing his temples lightly.

"I don't even know who killed Francis...how would I know about a similar murder if I know next to nothing about his murder?" He replied.

Lilly slid a photo across the coffee table.

"Did you ever meet his younger cousin, Jeanne?"

"Si...wait, was she the one who was murdered?" Antonio looked up, eyes widening. Lilly nodded grimly. "They found her this morning."

"...little Jeanne...? But...who would kill her?"

"That's what we're trying to discover."

"I'm afraid I haven't talked to her in years...but if you find anything I can help you with, let me know. I couldn't help Francis, but I want to help with this." He replied, green eyes serious.

Scotty stood.

"We'll let you know. And we'll be back later."

"Yes, of course."

**Aaaand that's the opening chapter! Unfortunately, I couldn't get a hold of any Cold Case episodes, so I had to settle for clips. I hope, of course, that my characterization is good, but it's probably a bit off...**


	2. Peterritus

According to the evidence found in Jeanne's bag, she'd gone to visit a Juan Gonzalez...locating him had been a bit of a task, but luckily for them, they had his ownership of a cafe to add to his description.

When Scotty and Lilly entered the cafe, they were promptly greeted by a chipper blonde at the counter.

"Hey there! I'll be with you in a moment, I just need to finish restocking these shelves. Pick a table!" He encouraged, before ducking under the counter to continue his placement of pastries. The detectives took a table, humoring him. When he came to their table, however, they were quick to inform him of why they were here.

"Is Juan Gonzalez here? We need to speak to him; we think he might have some information about a homicide-"

The blonde dropped his pad and pencil, eyes widening, as the detectives flashed their badges at him. Then he turned and ran. Scotty stood, quickly chasing him into the kitchen; odd, he'd expected a Juan Gonzalez to be more...Hispanic...

The blonde burst through the double doors, nearly knocking over a larger man with a large stack of dishes.

"Feliks, you freak, watch where you're going!" He snapped, and Scotty stopped short.

"...are you Juan Gonzalez?"

"Who's asking?" The man carrying the plates narrowed his eyes at him, as the back door opened and shut behind them. Feliks had escaped.

Scotty drew out his badge again, sighing,

"I'm here investigating a homicide."

"Well, I'm Jose. Juan went out to get bananas. If you'll excuse me, I have to go catch his pet boyfriend..." Jose turned on his heel, disgusted. Scotty turned to follow him.

"Do you know anything about a Jeanne Bonnefoy?"

Jose paused, glancing back at him.

"She was that nosy girl who came around here and startled Feliks..."

_"G-get out! Y-you don't know wh-what you're talking a-about-I-I'm not-I-I didn't-!" Feliks was clearly panicking in the front, and Jose would've gone to help him, but he was doing the dishes, after all. He didn't really like him all that much, but he tried to be civil when Juan was around. Juan arrived back just then, carrying milk. It was quickly forgotten on the counter, as he dashed to the front, to check on Feliks._

_Jose followed, just in case._

_A young, blonde woman was speaking to Feliks, gesturing to pictures and documents she had spread across the counter._

_"I know you know something! This is my cousin we're talking about! You must tell me!" She spoke with a French accent, and instantly, Jose knew who she was talking about. Francis Bonnefoy; he'd been killed a long time back, during his senior year at the academy...it was so long ago...this girl must have been too young to know Francis' true nature._

_Juan moved defensively in front of Feliks, who promptly clung to him from behind._

_"Get out of my shop this instant, or I will call the police." He said lowly, glaring. He did not take well to anyone being unkind to Feliks in any way; the man's skin was much too thin. The young woman gathered all the evidence, mouth pressing into a thin line._

_"I will be back..."_

_"You'd better not be!" Juan yelled after her, as she exited. Juan turned to Feliks, holding him tightly._

_"Who was that, Feliks?"_

_"She was Jeanne Bonnefoy...she...she thought I knew something about Francis...you know, when he died and stuff..." Feliks' head bowed, and Juan pressed a kiss to his crown, much to Jose's disgust.  
><em>

_"Cut the mush, we have work to do..." He grumbled, turning back into the kitchen._

"I didn't see her again after that." Jose explained. It was then, of course, that Juan entered the kitchen with more bananas, and Feliks in tow.

"Jose, what's going on? I found him running down the street!" Juan told him, and Jose rolled his eyes.

"I'm not his babysitter, remember? Besides, they just wanted to know about Jeanne." Jose replied, turning back to the dishes. Juan frowned.

"The girl who was harassing Feliks? What happened?"

"She's dead, I'm afraid. Do you know anything about it?" Lilly replied, crossing her arms. Juan shook his head.

"I know absolutely nothing about it; she probably just stuck her nose where she shouldn't have."

Scotty looked to Feliks.

"Why did you run? Do you know something?"

Feliks shrank back against Juan, green eyes wide. Juan squeezed his arm, frowning at the detectives.

"He doesn't know anything either; if you have any questions, ask me."

"H-he was gay!" Feliks suddenly blurted, and everyone looked at him sharply.

"...who was?" Scotty raised an eyebrow at his peculiar behavior.

"Fr-Francis...he was gay...a-ask Matthew...um, Matthew Williams..."

* * *

><p>Matthew Williams was a quiet man; the detectives nearly missed him among the bustling atmosphere of the newspaper office. He sat across from them now, his nearly violet eyes clouded with a silent worry.<p>

"Is there something wrong?"

"Yes. It says here you were fostered by the the Bonnefoy family...did you know Francis well?"

"Yes, we were quite close." Matthew glanced down at his hands.

Lilly leaned forward.

"How close?"

A blush flared along Matthew's cheekbones, and that was all the answer she needed.

"Well...I did live with them for five years..."

"What she means is, were you more than foster brothers?" Scotty replied, watching him, having also caught the blush.

"For a time, yes. But it didn't last. He was always worried about what his parents would think..."

* * *

><p>Lilly and Scotty were still going over the latest pieces of evidence; it seemed that Jeanne had been quite busy, with bits and pieces of evidence from all over the place, including police files. She was a criminal justice major, and had been interning at the police headquarters; she'd used it to get to this evidence.<p>

"She was quite smart...what was she doing in an alley way?" Lilly mused, going over an article clipping.

"Maybe someone promised her answers if she met them there..." Scotty suggested.

"But she wouldn't have gone alone, would she?"

"Maybe her companion ran when things got ugly?"

**Poor Jeanne; the women in my stories always get the short end of the stick...murdered, raped, sent to jail...I hope Luce fares better...**


End file.
